Top 12 Most Powerful Musicians of Today
May 22nd, 2008
When compiling a list of the Most Powerful Musicians, one must take into account not just album sales, but also clothing lines, fragrances, sold-out tours, charities, endorsement deals and, of course, relevancy. When you throw all of these important ingredients together and bake for more than 15 minutes of fame, you get the following 12 entertainers.
12. 50 Cent The King of Drama
At the age of 12, Curtis James Jackson III (aka 50 Cent) started dealing drugs. He was then arrested, served 6 months, and got his GED. Then, in 2000, he was shot nine times - DRAMA! - only to come back stronger than ever, breaking into the music industry and being one of today’s most successful rappers. It’s a compelling story, hence the making of Get Rich or Die Tryin’, the semi-autobiographical movie in which he also starred. And then, even though he didn’t retire like he said he would after Kanye West sold more albums than he did, 50 Cent is proving he’s still a fighter: he has 6 - yes, SIX - movies in the works and a new album (most likely) coming out later this year - which is aptly titled Before I Self Destruct. Duly noted.
11. Christina Aguilera The Chameleon
Christina Aguilera is one of the most successful female recording artists of the decade. She has had 18 Grammy nominations, 5 Wins, and has sold over 37 million albums worldwide. Although she just gave birth to her first son in January, she shows no signs of slowing down. She doesn’t have a new album coming out in the near future, but she has 2 best-selling European perfumes with a 3rd on the way. She also has made her mark by avidly supporting such charities and organizations as Missing Kids, Women’s Cancer Research Fund, Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and The Amnesty International Campaign to Save Darfur. She also donated all of her wedding gifts in support of Hurricane Katrina victims. Christina Aguilera wears many hats - a singer, a songwriter, a philanthropist - and she looks great in all of them.
10. Miley Cyrus The Teen Queen
At first glance, 15-year-old Miley Cyrus might just look like your typical well-to-do teenager: a bubbly, happy-go-lucky girl, making silly YouTube videos with her best friend, Mandy. But oh yeah - she is also the star of that hugely-popular Hannah Montana TV show; has a Hannah Montana clothing line; toured extensively with those Jonas Brothers, selling-out tickets in record speed; has had a number 1 album and is about to release another one that will most likely shoot to the top; and, according to Forbes magazine, is earning $3.5 million+ per year. She is a Disney dream come true, but a consumer’s nightmare since she is the sole reason that mom’s everywhere are breaking the bank - and that’s pretty damn powerful.
9. Bono The Global Ambassador
If there is one person who fully demonstrates that activism and celebrity can go hand-in-hand, it is Bono. By day he is merely the lead singer of U2, one of the greatest rock bands of all time, but by night, he is healing the world. To wit: he was the founder of the multinational non-government organization DATA (Debt, Aids, Trade in Africa), was the co-founder of Product Red and the ONE Campaign, was named a Person of the Year by TIME magazine, was an organizer of the Live 8 concerts, was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, and was even granted an honorary knighthood by the UK. The only logical next-step: Sainthood.
8. Kanye West The Loudmouth
Kanye West is kind of like that little kid at the grocery store who throws a fit when no one buys him that KitKat bar in the check-out aisle. You see, he will complain when he doesn’t win the Best Album Grammy and will storm the stage in outrage when he doesn’t win the Best Video Award at the MTV Europe Music Awards. But in the end, he still manages to sell a shitload of albums, sell-out concert after concert and wrangle fellow powerhouse performers to go on tour with him, such as Rihanna, Lupe Fiasco and N.E.R.D. So no matter how much kicking and screaming he does, the man’s got clout and talent - and in the end, he will always get that KitKat bar.
7. Beyonce The Bootylicious Businesswoman
Her body may be Bootylicious, but both Beyonce’s vocal talent and business-savvy are what have propelled her to the top of her game. She no longer is the lead singer of some passe girl group, but rather a solo artist/brand who has won 5 Grammy Awards for her chart-topping albums, been nominated for 2 Golden Globe Awards for her hit movie Dreamgirls, has launched a fashion line with her mom called House of Dereon, and is the face of Pepsi and L’Oreal. She’s got piles of personality and charm to boot and it also doesn’t hurt that she recently married R&B rapper/producer/ultimate-moneymaker Jay-Z. With so much going for her, Beyonce has proven that she truly is Irreplaceable.
6. Timbaland The Music Maestro
Timbaland is the man with the Midas touch. He has produced chart-topping beats for all the musical heavy-hitters and is the man responsible for putting OneRepublic on the map with that little ditty Apologize. You may have heard of it. His latest endeavour was Madonna’s Hard Candy which recently debuted at number one in 27 countries, proving once again that Timbaland knows how to spin dance-able gold and that’s simply The Way He Are.
5. Hilary Duff The Mini Mogul
Once upon a time, Hilary Duff was the star of a little Disney TV show called Lizzie McGuire. What followed was a career explosion which included a successful solo career (selling over 13 million albums worldwide), an affordable personal clothing line (Stuff by Hilary Duff), lucrative endorsements (namely with Elizabeth Arden), and now a blossoming film career (War, Inc.), all while avoiding the controversies of sex-tapes and DUIs. This 20-year-old “good girl” reigns supreme; however she better watch out - Miley Cyrus is taking notes and is set on dethroning Queen Duff. Let the war of the Disney Darlings begin…
4. Diddy The Unstoppable Entrepreneur
P. Diddy, Puff Daddy, Sean Combs, call him whatever you want - the man has proven that he is more than just a name. In a career speckled with controversy (such as being held partly responsible for trampled audience members at a charity concert, charges of assault, and an arrest for weapons violations), there is no denying that the man is a marketing juggernaut. Along with his successful rap career, he has his own extremely lucrative clothing line Sean John, re-invented the Making The Band TV show, and has even appeared on Broadway - but perhaps his biggest contribution to the music industry has been his founding of Bad Boy Records which houses the likes of Yung Joc, Keyshia Cole and Danity Kane. Oh yeah - his butler, Farnsworth Bentley, has even become famous simply for being Diddy’s butler. You know when that happens that you’re dealing with Hollywood royalty.
3. Madonna The Living Legend
There is a reason Madonna “Madge” Ciccone has been nicknamed Her Madgesty; she truly is the Queen of Pop, ranked by the Recording Industry Association of America as the “Best Selling Female Rock Artist of the Twentieth Century.” She has an estimated net worth of over $400 million, her last 4 albums have debuted at number one, her new buddy Justin Timberlake just inducted her into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame, and she recently signed a 10-year contract with concert promoters Live Nation for $120 million! Showing no signs of fatigue, 49-year-old Madonna is as fit, healthy and savvy as ever, proving that she’ll be around for more than just 4 Minutes.
2. Jay-Z The Franchise
It takes a lot of guts to retire from the music industry, only to come back a few years later, bigger than ever - but that’s exactly what Jay-Z did. And it takes a lot of guts to head up a successful record company, only to eventually leave it for an even better deal - but (again) that’s exactly what Jay-Z did. In 2004, he was appointed as president and CEO of Def Jam Recordings, where he signed such major newcomers as Ne-Yo and Rihanna, but when Live Nation came a’callin’ with a $150 million deal, Jay-Z was quick to take it. With 25 Grammy nominations and 7 wins, he is allowed to take risks - but for Jay-Z, it has all just been a walk in the park.
1. Justin Timberlake The New King of Pop
Back in 1991, the “King of Pop” Michael Jackson released an album entitled Dangerous, which launched 6 Top 20 hits. Flash forward 15 years and Justin Timberlake releases his second solo album, FutureSex/LoveSounds, which goes on to launch 6 Top 20 hits. The only difference here is that when Michael Jackson accomplished said feat, he was nearing the end of his musical career - Justin Timberlake is only just beginning. Girls love him, guys want to be him, and parents think he’s the perfect boy to have over for Christmas dinner. He inducts Madonna into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, he dates respectable women, and he loves getting Punk’d. He sings, he dances, he plays piano and guitar, he beatboxes, and now he acts. It seems the man can do no wrong, and thus he ends up at number 1. The New King of Pop, indeed.
Photographs Courtesy Getty Images
Posted on Thursday, May 22nd, 2008 at 10:10 am by Soja and is filed under Celebrities & Pop Culture.
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78 Responses to “Top 12 Most Powerful Musicians of Today”
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What is funny about the list is that I will never buy those artist albums nor do I have them.To much hype over them!!
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Wow this list is so very wrong.
Justin Timberlake as #1? What has he done?!?
Bono should be at least in the top 3.
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I don’t think JT should be number 1. I think Jay-Z should definitely be at the top!
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Where the fuck is Trent Reznor?
Fuck my life.
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Duff before Beyonce. OMG you just lost yo motherf*cking mind!
P.S. ‘Lost Yo Mind’ is a unreleased Beyonce track. Youtube it!
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What about Usher? He had a number 1 song for 55% of 2004, longer than any artist has done in a year. Not to mention, that album was one of the last albums to go diamond in the US. If he was white, he would be on this list - and definitely ahead of Eminem. Speaking of which, what about him?
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Justin is not the king of pop, this list is so wrong. Michael is the king of pop. If anyone should take his place it would be Usher…he have sold alot more & been around longer.
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Hilary Duff?????????? You have got to be freaking kidding me
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Timbaland’s apologize is awesome.
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All these artists suck.
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Should have been called “Top 12 Corporate Suckups”. No Jack White? Right, cause who cares about bringing back the blues when you have a show on Disney. Shame.
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that list is so wack and inaccurate. lol at Justin being at #1
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lol. who’s at no1? =)) it will never be another king of pop.
@no1. MICHAEL JACKSON is the KING OF POP.
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I’d hesitate before I even let my own stool touch any of the above artists albums let alone buy the sodding thing!!
I could probably explain their music theory in an hour to any idiot, why don’t people listen to proper music, rather than this utter tripe!!
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IowaDude…. If he was white? Give me a break, half the people on the list are black, kinda makes it hard to imply the list writer is being racist. While Usher certainly has had his moments, he is not even close to being in the same league as these other entertainment powerhouses.
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This list doubles as 12 artists whose music is not worth listening to.
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This list is so full of FAIL it isn’t funny. The only thing i agree with in this list is in the comments, where Roach put it best:
“Where the fuck is Trent Reznor?”
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wow! you guys have no idea what power is. btw is not money.
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I have over 6000 songs on my iPod and I couldn’t name a hit song by more than half these artists. Most of these wannabes might make a “Best Marketing” list but nothing to do with music. Who put this list together, an 18 yr old urban hipster? Laughable.
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Insane list…
What about Rolling Stones, Metallica,…
Bono at #9???? I agree he should be at least #3.
This list isn’t worth reading it…oh, I’m so sorry i read it by now.
PD: Hillary duff??? u must be kidding!!!!
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Bono KNOWS the president. only No#5. lol
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What about Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Michael Jackson etc etc?
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Eminem. Nuff said.
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With the advent of new technology the power in music has been decentralized and pluaralized. The real power now lies with the consumer and the few executives that controll 80% of the people on this list. The great thing about modern music and its outlets is that the genreization has allowed a vast array of music to reach many people to be inspired by it; the sad point is that the rest is the same dribble composed by a few formulaic ideas that is overly produced and satiated. Who is the most powerful person in music? You are.
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Uhm, where is Metallica in this list?
Since the year 2000 they’ve sold more albums than ALL of these artists, and sold out more concerts too. In fact they are the second highest selling band behind the Beatles!
Since 2000 they’ve played concerts to more than 30 MILLION people.
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I feel sad now.
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All these guys are trash… was this list made for 12 year olds?
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Lol! Anything with hilary duff in it will surely get flak.
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This is just WTF???
50 Cent? Are his songs related to any meaning at all? He’s just rapping about things, bit*es, money and fame.
Christina deserves to be a part of the list because of her talent and voice.
Miley Cyrus…never heard of her.
Bono, definitely.
Kanye West…one of the best rappers, but not a powerful musician.
Beyonce sure has talent and also deserves to be a part of the list.
Timbaland, yeah, but his music is so predictable. Hilary Duff…wait..what?? Diddy..NOOT! Madonna..ehh, everything after Don’t Tell Me was bull**it.
Jay-Z, now that’s a powerful musician.
Justun Timberlake?? You have got to be freaking out of your mind. Those songs just su** as*.
The problem is. Most of these famous musicians just produce songs without any meaning. Yeah, you can tell that this song is dedicated to your mom, this one to spread love, but the final results in the charts are just CRAP! Music stopped to make almost any sense at the beginning of the 80’s…now it’s all just about money.
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My only comment is that the title of this article is “Top 12 Most Powerful Musicians of TODAY”…
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Where the hell is Mariah Carey? She has the most #1 hits of ALL TIME
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Which one of these is a musican?…..What instruments do they play?……This should have been called best artist, even at that rate it’s all wrong and probably an article that was paid for by these people’s Public relations department.
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Who are these people?
I know Madonna, so maybe she belongs on this list.
All the others may have millions in revenue on their side, but have never contributed to musik as an art in the way real artists have.
My suggestions would be (some although i loathe their music / no particular order):
- Elvis
- Michael Jackson
- Andrew Sisters
- Kurt Cobain
- Beatles (the late works)
- Jimi Hendrix
- the Cream
- Pink Floyd
- Genesis (uhh)
- Kraftwerk
- Mozart
- Beethoven
- some real Rap-Artists (may Dr.Dre or Tupac, i’m not really into HipHop. Even Eminem would kick P.Diddys ass)
and many morewhich deserve to be on this list much more than the ones you mentioned.
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have a nice dress is equal to being a powerfull musician?
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Frank is the best boy to ever live. He is smart. He is handsome. He is kind. He is brave. Is there a better boy than Frank? NO!!!
What part of Frank is most handsome?
His body and face are the best. They are the cutest.
I really don’t know these people qualify as “musicians”…The majority of your selections are “personalities” with endorsement deals. Few, actually “write” music, other than contributing snatches of words for the end of a banal lyric.
You pretty much just grabbed images of random famous people and attached to them pretentious titles.
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A poorly named article. With the exception of Bono, there’s not an actual MUSICIAN on this list. Musicians are usually thought to play a musical instrument as their bread and butter. If we let pop star singers be called musicians, we give them wayyy to much credit. “Most Powerful Pop Stars” maybe…
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None of these people, aside from Bono, are musicians. These are what you call entertainers. There is a huge difference.
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These comments are funny. The title is ‘Top 12 Most POWERFUL Musicians of TODAY’. They are not saying anything about musical abilities. Chevy makes a sh*tty car, but they still have a lot of clout in the auto market.
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Looks like someone put a list together…solely for the sake of putting a list together.
So now we ascertain how powerful a musician is, by the amount of monetary power they can accrue? The message that the musician convey is of little or no significance, in respect to the potential of them turning themselves into a conglomerate.
It really depends how you perceive the world. The sugar coated world as depicted in the songs of Miley Cyrus(s) and Justin Timberlake, or tell-it-like-it-is songs of System of a Down.
And I cant believe this article got dugg.
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Where are the musicians here?
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This list is full of fail…. All, minus perhaps Timbaland, suck monkey balls.
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Uh, no.
Bono (but s/b his group - U2) and (sadly) Madonna are the only two on this list who have any claim to the title.
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this list cannot be serious….
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what a load of horse manure
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This list is absolute shit. Without Trent Reznor included on it, it absolutely, positively DOES NOT BLEND. This list was obviously compiled by someone who has a false sense of the industry, of music, and of relevancy.
EPIC FAIL.
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What about Trent Reznor?
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Yeah, this list is great if all you listen to is computer generated shit-Pop/Rap “music”
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Musician usually signifies that the person actually writes music or at least performs with a musical instrument. You could call these people performers or entertainers, but not musicians.
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Any of these “musicians” play an instrument?
FAIL!
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3 Acts/Musicians Who Should Have Been Cut Off After The First Three Minutes Of Fame:
The Pussycat Dolls - YOU WILL NEVER BE THE SPICE GIRLS…EVER! No one can relate to you unless they’re a stripper or they wear less clothing than Lil’ Kim.
Instead of lingere I think the girls should maybe take up knitting and knit a few warm sweaters to cover up those clams.
What happens when you hang around Aaron Carter for too long?
Exhibit “A”, Amy Winehouse.
Scarlet Johanson - Please stick to acting and leave what Tom Waits does best to…Tom Waits. If you’re going to make music please be original.
I’ll giver her credit though, her covers could have been as lame as Fall Out Boy’s “Beat It”.
If anyone is looking for a good cover I’d suggest “Stand By Me” by Pennywise.